England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Kirklington St Swithin

The Parish

The parish of Kirklington lies in central Nottinghamshire roughly 4 miles northwest of the market town of Southwell. Kirklington sits on the A617 road which connects Newark on Trent with Mansfield and on the northern banks of te infant River Greet. Kirklington has properties both along the A617 and also along a lane, Southwell Road, headed southwest from the latter wherein sits the majority of the settlement. The presence of the headwaters of the Greet gave some variation to the farming of the parish, the majority was arable with the usual cereals and root crops dominant but the valley of the Greet provided pastures too for mainly cattle. Modern developments have come and gone from the parish, a railway line linking Newark with Mansfield once followed the southern banks of the Greet but is now closed and largely dismantled leaving a few bridges and cuttings to mark its previous existence. The Greet drains the parish southeastwards, passing through the eastern edges of Southwell to reach the Trent, the latter is here headed northwards to reach the Humber Estuary and thence the North Sea. Kirklington parish was typically sized for its area covering just under 2,000 acres and supporting a population of around 250 parishioners. In Domesday times Kirklington was a much smaller place, held by Gilbert of Ghent it could muster just 3 ploughs but did possess a mill, presumably powered by the Greet.

The Church

St Swithin's church stands on the southern side of the A617 close to the edge of the village as that road heads towards Newark. Whilst St Swithin does have early origins much of the church was rebuilt in more recent times, the main fabric remaining from those early times is that of the southern porch and northern doorway both of which show the style of the Early English Gothic and date from the 13th century. It is likely too that the nave is from a similar era but rendering and later replacement of windows inhibits dating. It is internally that we see much of the reason for the rebuilding as the medieval tower arch has clearly deformed from the weight of the original tower, consequently today's western tower is a brick structure from the 17th century which, at least, stands on the same medieval ground-courses. A bell is fated 1664 which limits the final date of completion. The prominent southern stair-turret gives the tower a slightly ungainly lack of symmetry. The typical Victorian restoration came here in 1874 and was a thorough affair which replaced most of the original windows and largely rebuilt the chancel. Parking on the busy A617 is to be discouraged, there are side roads for safer parking close by. The church is screened behind neatly slipped hedging and a belt of thick mature trees so is largly invisible from the road, a metal gate grants entry at the western edge, thankfully the trees are restricted to the views from the unfavoured northern side with most southern aspects available for the photographer.